Two stunning views from our Uber

It will be a quieter blog post from me this week, since grass grew and paint dried before the past seven days went by. Generally, recruitment has not been favorable to the PIRE students here from my lab, but we don’t expect this trend to last forever. However, it did lead to some very restful days. And sometimes—especially under a perpetual heat advisory—those are exactly what you need.

The Research

Dr. Guzzardo informed us that students from the University of Puerto Rico are trying to get through finals and get away (which I completely understand). It’s likely that the campus will be all but barren until June, when the summer session begins. This past week, I decided to make the most of the situation. After tweaking my research flyer, I printed 50 new copies of it, setting the personal goal to get rid of them all within the next couple of weeks. Will they be hung up? Will they be handed out in person? Who knows!

The Rest

📍 Escambrón Beach, San Juan, PR (but more east this time)

If you have read my blog previously, you know that my favorite place in San Juan is Panchi, one of the local cafés. Sadly, though, our visits this week were few and far between, since our favorite barista had to travel to the United States for work. Devoid of iced vanilla lattes and fluffy buttered toast, therefore, I went back to the beach with the others a couple of times, and I also tried my first arepa. To the latter, I’ll say only this: There will probably be a new frequenter at La Preñá, in Hato Rey. (But, I mean, come on—as long as you say, “hey, it has bread,” I’ll be first in line.) For now, it seems like next week promises a day of sun, kayaks, and snorkeling, plus a slew of local recruitment efforts. With any luck, my deep-seated introversion will choose to nod off for a bit, leaving me able to come, see, and conquer on campus when it’s time.

Each little clam here, know how to jam here…